Page 34 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

TWENTY-EIGHT

WESLEY

I opened my eyes and everything started turning. The ceiling, the walls, me. It took a couple of blinks to make everything stop and a few more to orient myself and remember where I was.

As soon as I did, I smiled. I turned on my side and put my arm around…nothing. The bed was empty.

“Teddy?” I called out, but no answer came.

He was probably in the bathroom. I put my glasses on and waited, watching the door, but Teddy didn’t show up.

I had no idea how long I’d waited, but when I got up, I was worried something bad had happened, so I put on my pants and T-shirt and went looking for him.

I reached the bathroom door, and just when I was about to knock, I noticed the light in the living room.

Teddy was sitting on the floor with a laptop on the coffee table illuminating his face.

“Teddy? What are you doing?” I approached him and whispered, making him jump. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

I reached the sofa and saw the yarn by his side and the crochet needle in his hand with a chunk of fabric on his lap. One of the kitties was playing with the yarn as it moved, but as soon as it spotted me, it dashed under the couch, never to be seen again.

“Oh hey. Did I wake you?” he asked. He put the needle down on the other side and started getting up, but I stopped him and sat on the sofa next to him.

“No. I just woke up and you weren’t there.”

“Sorry,” he said, all sheepish. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out here to do some more research. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Research on what?” I asked and put my hand on his shoulder to soothe him.

“Social media. I’ve been posting on Duke’s pages, but we haven’t been getting a lot of engagement, so I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

My heart thumped, and I put my arms around him to give him a hug.

“That’s so sweet that you care so much,” I said.

“Of course I care. He trusted me with an important job. I don’t want to let him down. He relies on online engagement for donations.”

The harsh light from the laptop shone in his eyes and made him look smaller, vulnerable, and cuter.

“Have I told you how much I admire you?” I asked him and ran my fingers through his soft hair.

“Me? Why?” He chuckled and looked away from me.

“Because…you’re sweet and dedicated and determined.

You’ve given up your whole life to look after Bear, you give up your free time to help your friends, and to support your family.

You work so hard, yet you’ve never, not once, complained or said a bad word about anyone. You’re one of a kind, Teddy Olson.”

He blinked, but he didn’t respond. And it was okay. I didn’t want him to respond. I just wanted him to know what a wonderful human being he was. And how my heart beat faster whenever I was with him. Even if I wasn’t ready to share the last part just yet.

“I’m doing what anyone in my place would do,” he said after a long moment of gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Perhaps,” I said. “But you’ve seen Barnes. He doesn’t even do the bare minimum. So, not everyone would do what you do.”

He shrugged, picked up the needle, and continued to crochet with the pink yarn.

“You’re getting really good at this,” I said and picked up the fabric with care and attention.

“Thanks,” he said with a shy smile.

He’d only started crocheting a week or so ago, and he had already completed a sleeveless sweater that was more his size, although I wouldn’t lie. I was a fan of the tight fit of the old lady’s sweaters he’d been wearing.

“What are you making?” I asked.

“Sleeves for the sweater I finished. I figured I’d need something heavier for the winter.”

I smiled and cupped his face with tender fingers.

“You’re adorable,” I said. “How on earth can you crochet and read at the same time?”

“I’m not.” He chuckled. “I take it in turns when I get too tired.”

Oh, be still my heart. How could he be such a soft giant?

“Want me to help?” I offered to take over the crocheting, but he pulled it closer to him.

“I’ve got the counts in my head,” he smiled cheekily. “But you can read this article aloud if you want?”

I chuckled and leaned over the laptop to make the writing bigger, and then I sat on the sofa with my legs on either side of him and his head in my hands, nuzzling his hair.

“If you want your social media to pop, you need to ask yourself: what value does this add to my followers’ lives…” I started, and he nodded along, keeping his attention on his crochet work and only stopping to ponder over a statement or to ask me to repeat it.

We sat there like that for an hour, taking breaks, finding new articles, discussing what route he could take with posts, and by the time the clock showed four in the morning, he had finished one sleeve, and I was yawning like nobody’s business.

“You’re tired. Go to bed, baby. I don’t want to keep you up,” he said.

“I’m fine right here, thank you.” I yawned. “I’m determined and dedicated, like you.”

He chuckled and leaned back so he could kiss me. And I kissed him back, Spider-Man style, a.k.a. upside down.

Then I looked for another article to read, although by this point, there was nothing new to add. Everyone was just reiterating the same things, but seeing as neither of us kept notes, that was probably for the best.

I read a couple more articles, but when I asked for Teddy’s opinion, he didn’t respond.

I moved to the side to look at him. He had fallen asleep with the needle and the start of the second sleeve in his hand.

“Oh, Teddy,” I sighed and kissed his cheek.

I opened his hands, took the crochet work off him and placed it on the coffee table, and then closed the laptop.

“Come on,” I whispered in his ear. “Let’s go to bed.”

His eyes barely opened in response, but he did try to look at me, although I wasn’t sure how successful he was.

“Come on. Get up,” I said and tried to lift him, but the man weighed a ton.

“I’m okay,” he whined.

“You’re not. You’re sleeping sitting down. You need to go to bed.”

“I’m fine, baby.”

“Fine, my ass,” I chuckled. “Come on. Don’t you want to sleep in my arms?”

His eyes opened a little more, and he smiled.

“I want to do more than sleep in your arms.”

I laughed.

“You can barely keep yourself awake, and you want sex? Huh. You’re talking nonsense.”

He finally got up and dragged me onto him by the small of my back.

“I’m being serious,” he grumbled in my ear.

“Sure. Okay, big boy. Come on. Let’s go to bed, and we’ll see if you have the ener—” I started when Teddy slid his hand down and gave my butt a squeeze.

“Oh, I have the energy, baby.”

I couldn’t lie. The contact and the squeeze shot straight to my cock, making me instantly hard, but I wasn’t going to take advantage of a sleepy man, so I just laughed it off and tried to pull away from him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, keeping me close to him.

“Are you being serious?” I asked.

“Never been more serious.”

“Babe, you can’t even keep your eyes open?—”

As soon as I said it, he opened his eyes so big and wide they made me jump, but he leaned in for a kiss, pressing our hips together, and it became apparent he was just as hard, if not more, as I was.

“Fine. Let’s go to bed, and you can do whatever you want to me,” I told him.

He would probably fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. And that was exactly what I expected to happen.

It wasn’t.